Mustard TV would like to hear from you

Putting the viewer at the heart of the programming is key to the mission statement of the new station, and that doesn’t just mean watching what’s on, but actively taking part through phone-ins, Twitter and social media.

It is your chance to get involved and there will be many ways of taking part.

And putting the viewer at the heart of the station is key to its mission statement.

Managing director Fiona Ryder, said: “We would like people to get in touch and talk to us.

“We want to be discussing things with them via social media, in a way you probably can’t do with other broadcasters because the sheer volume of the area they cover means you would never get any access to that.

Here’s some of the other ways you can get involved.

Share video content. If you’d like to submit video material you think other people would like to see on Mustard you can use Archant’s content sharing community website at iwitness24.co.uk to upload material. It’s very easy to use – just follow the on site instructions

Feature match reports from your local sports club - there are even exclusive iPhone apps and accessories to help you capture the action on camera.

Tell the team your news or details of events you are involved or if you have an idea for a feature get in touch by email, Twitter or via Facebook and call the team on 01603 628311.

From March 24 Mustard TV is coming to the screens of up to 162,000 homes in and around the greater Norwich area broadcasting to viewers in the city and surrounding areas from Cromer to Attleborough, and from Dereham to Acle.

The local station, which has been broadcasting online since January 2013, will launch on Freeview channel 8 on March 24 at 5:30pm.

When it hits the screens, it will feature a mix of news, sport, documentaries, politics and business coverage, Monday to Friday, from 5.30pm to 10.30pm.

And at the heart of the schedule is ‘The Mustard Show’ – the flagship magazine programme promising a “daily dollop of all things Norfolk” which will broadcast weekdays at 6.15pm, co-hosted by former Norwich City star Darren Eadie.

Mustard TV team.
Photo by Simon Finlay.

Other programmes to be screened during the first week include the UK TV premiere of Splinter Bike, the documentary charting how two men from Norfolk set the first official world land-speed record on a bicycle built entirely from wood and Archive Half Hour a six-part series produced in association with the East Anglian Film Archive, Fragment Films and Timeline Media.

Mustard managing director Fiona Ryder said the station aimed to be “warm, witty and welcoming”.

“That’s our channel ethos,” she said. “We want to celebrate the people and places of Norwich. We live in an amazing part of the world and we think that’s worth celebrating.”

Map showing the Mustard TV coverage area

• Right at the heart of our community

A feature of the new station is to give free air time to charities and community groups to talk about the good work they are doing.

The Benjamin Foundation will be the first local charity to take advantage of Mustard’s community airtime slot when it launches on Freeview channel 8 on March 24. The Norfolk charity has made a 15 minute film about its work supporting children, young people and families across the county which will be shown several times during the channel’s launch week.

Mustard TV team. Fiona Ryder.
Photo by Simon Finlay.

The film focuses on the work The Benjamin Foundation does to support teenagers and young adults from Norfolk who would otherwise be homeless. It was filmed in Great Yarmouth and North Walsham.

Richard Draper, founder and chief executive of The Benjamin Foundation, also features in the film. He explains how The Benjamin Foundation started in 1994 following the death of his son Benjamin. He also explains how breaking the cycle of homelessness is just of the charity’s aims.

He said: “We deliver a broad range of services to around 2,000 people every year, each of them driven by the needs of Norfolk people. Through our work we provide hope, opportunity, stability and independence to the people who need us.”

Find out how to showcase the work of your charity or community group on Mustard TV. Call 01603 628311 and ask for the Mustard team.

• How to tune in

From next week Mustard TV will be broadcast on Freeview Channel 8.

However, some viewers may need to retune their Freeview TV, box or recorder to pick up Mustard TV.

Viewers can re-tune anytime after today to take advantage of this service.

You can also find out if you are covered by checking on the Digital UK ‘coverage checker’ at www.digitaluk.co.uk/howtoretune/retuning_instructionsOr for viewer information about Mustard TV and how to retune your Freeview TV or box contact the Freeview advice line on 08456 505050.

• How Mustard was born - and how you can get involved

September 18, 2012 was the beginning of a new chapter in local journalism after the TV regulator Ofcom awarded Mustard TV a licence to run a new Norwich-based local TV channel.

The successful bid was a joint venture between community media group Archant, publishers of the Eastern Daily Press, Norwich Evening News, and weekly titles such as the Great Yarmouth Mercury and North Norfolk News, together with Norwich-based partners Jarrold, Norwich University College of the Arts, and City College Norwich, was awarded the licence by Ofcom to run a new local TV channel based in Norwich.

The aim was to place Norwich at the vanguard of the government’s local TV revolution while also drawing on more than 160 years of journalistic experience and know-how within Archant.

Mustard represents a “multi-media evolution” for Archant into a business producing newspapers, websites, magazines, as well as social media sites and exhibitions.

This is going to be 'not very good'. The only people watching after the initial month or so will be the friends and families of the participant(s) in any given story, provided it concerns where they live. They will be excited because they will have 'been on the telly'. For a broad range of news, we will still access the usual channels. I give it 6 months.

V, the reason these areas are not included is because of the transmitter, not because Norwich doesn't want to know. Ofcom provide the trasmitter so it is out of there hands. Also i know the content has been poor but I think wants its live it will be a hit!